Moral panics don’t produce good policy. Neither does banning things.
The current fracas about critical race theory on the right is just such a panic, and if legislators don’t stand up for common sense, they will be forced into ridiculous positions at the Kansas Statehouse next year.
We must understand what’s going on here. First of all, critical race theory isn’t a specific thing. It’s an umbrella term that refers to multiple ideas and concepts about how racial discrimination continues to affect communities in the United States. They fit into a framework that attempts to explain why our country is still divided and why communities of color still face obstacles and barriers not faced by white people.
Secondly, our country still includes plenty of racist people. The resurgence of white nationalists over recent years — and former President Trump’s flirtation with them — should make that clear.
The former president’s party has therefore decided that, rather than deal with racism in its own ranks, it should create a bogeyman on the left. Critical race theory has become a cudgel to use against political enemies, while winking and nodding to those who believe that the proper America is white as a Ku Klux Klan sheet.
Fox News has decided this is a crisis, and GOP-controlled state after GOP-controlled state is falling into line. These debates have everything to do with obscuring the truth rather than addressing real needs.
BUT HERE’S the truth.
The past impacts our present and future. History can be ugly, but we need to come to grips with it. Systemic racism has affected generations of Americans, and you can see the effects in wealth accumulation, health outcomes, education, policing and more. This isn’t about “guilt” — it’s about reality.
Our country has deprived an entire community of people of their basic rights, simply because of the color of their skin. Covering your eyes doesn’t make that go away.
This is part of a disturbing trend that we saw last session in the Legislature. You could see it in the youth transgender sports bill and voting rights restrictions. Our state wasn’t experiencing issues. There was no problem. There was a slick, outrage machine that exploited voters and legislators.
You could even see it in the Legislature’s attempt to add civics and financial literacy requirements for high school students. Those may be good ideas, but we have a state board of education. That’s why we have it. Legislators don’t need to weigh in on every single debate or see themselves as a magical fix to a random oversight.
If we value teachers, if we trust our systems and procedures, let them do their work. Avoid moral panics and partisan temptations.
— Topeka Capital-Journal
